Lake City soldier dies in Iraq

LAKE CITY — A Lake City soldier has died of injuries he received when a vehicle rolled over north of Al Kut, Iraq, according to a U.S. Department of Defense release issued Wednesday.

U.S. Army Sgt. Aaron M. Arthur, 25, died Monday, leaving his hometown saddened.

Arthur graduated in 2003 from Lake City High School where he played baseball and football and was an active member of the Junior ROTC.

Lake City High football coach Matt Apicella said Arthur was an incredible young man and his passing is a huge loss to the community.

“He was such a hard worker,” Apicella said. “He always kept in touch and came by the weight room in the summers to let us know how he was doing.”

Arthur joined the army in November 2003, five months after he graduated from high school. He arrived in Fort Benning in March 2004.

Sgt. Maj. Northern Miller, Lake City High School ROTC instructor, said Arthur decided early on he was serious about joining the army.

“At 14, 15, 16 you there’s a lot of playing going on. Aaron didn’t do a lot of playing,” Miller said. “He was always serious about what he was doing.”

A heavy vehicle driver for the Army, Arthur told Miller he was hoping to advance his military career by becoming a drill sergeant.

T.J. Singletary, Arthur’s classmate and teammate, said he was shocked to hear the horrible news of his death but has many fond memories of his high school friend.

“He had a good attitude – loved to be around a good crowd,” Singletary said.

Singletary also said he remembers Arthur was artistically gifted and drew portraits of people and cities.

He said he learned Tuesday about Arthur’s death, which shocked him after a long period of not hearing from his high school friend.

“My girlfriend told me about it,” he said. “I was like, ‘What? Aaron Arthur?’”

As a six-year veteran in the Army, Arthur received many awards and ribbons including two Army Good Conduct Medals, an Overseas Service Ribbon and a Combat Action Badge.

Also killed in the rollover was Army Spc. Lakeshia M. Bailey, 23, of Columbus, Ga.

The soldiers were assigned to the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, attached to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

Another Lake City native, 48-year-old U.S. Sgt. Maj. Army Michael Boyd Stack, was killed in action in Iraq on April 14, 2004.

U.S. Army Pfc. Juan Manuel Lopez Jr., 23, became the first Florence resident to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom on Aug. 13, 2007. He was one of three Fort Bliss soldiers killed after their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Others from the area who have died in Iraq, according to The Associated Press, are U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Carl L. Anderson Jr., 21, of Georgetown, Aug. 29, 2004; U.S. Army Spc. Anthony C. Owens, 21, of Conway, Feb. 1, 2006; and U.S. Army Spc. Seth A. Hildreth, 26, of Myrtle Beach, Aug. 27, 2006.

U.S. Army Specialist Larry Curtis Applegate, 27, of Surfside Beach served as a machine gunner in Iraq, where he was hit by a roadside bomb in April 2006. He died Jan. 17, 2009, in Colorado.

Staff Sgt. James David Bullard, 28, of Marion, who was serving with the S.C. National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 263rd Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition), a S.C. National Guard unit based in Dillon, was killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan, his family learned Oct. 30, 2007.

S.C. National Guard Sgt. Edward O. Philpot, 38, of Latta, serving with the 1st Battalion, 263rd Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition), a S.C. National Guard unit based in Mullins, died Oct. 23, 2007 as a result of a vehicle rollover while he was traveling with the 218th Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason Carlyle Hicks, 25, of Jefferson in Chesterfield County was killed when his Pave Hawk helicopter crashed March 23, 2003. He was serving with the 41st Rescue Squadron from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

U.S. Army Pfc. Spence Alexander McNeil, 19, of Bennettsville, died March 8, 2003, as a result of an accident in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. McNeil was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment from Fort Bliss, Texas.

— Lake City News & Post Editor Charles Tomlinson contributed to this report.